Brian Rosener is the keeper of the Semoball Cup which is presented to the school with the most successful season. It is based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams plus bonus points for advancement in postseason play for both teams and individuals. The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields. Rosener has been the sports editor for the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo. since December 2001. He was born and raised in St. Louis, where he attended Lindbergh High School and Webster University. He is married to Jennifer, a Poplar Bluff native, has a son Jack and a dog named Satchel who stands in for his @semoballBrian photo.

SEMO Conference final

Posted Saturday, December 12, 2009, at 1:42 PM

It ended up being a lot like the last meeting between Sikeston and Poplar Bluff.

You can read my game story here.

The Bulldogs ran out to a 42-24 lead late in the first half, only to see Poplar Bluff rally right back at the start of the third quarter. This time, however, the Mules couldn't complete the comeback. They never led after midway through the first quarter, but did pull within 61-60 with 3:58 to go in the fourth.

Turnovers again slowed Poplar Bluff. Sikeston scored 36 points off 25 Poplar Bluff turnovers to overcome a 44 percent shooting night and a 10-rebound disadvantage on the boards. The Bulldogs also hit a better percentage of free throws than the Mules, who were 11 of 20 at the line.

Jay Raulston had a monster night with 30 points, 14 rebounds and three assists for the Mules. The senior hit 11 of 13 shots from the field and was 8 of 13 from the free-throw line. Eljie Johnson added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Juqualin Wiggins led Sikeston with 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals.

The good news is these two teams will meet again Feb. 5 at Sikeston.

From earlier

The top two seeds -- Sikeston (5-0) and Poplar Bluff (4-1) -- meet tonight at 8:30 p.m. in the final of the SEMO Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs, who won the tournament title last year, lost just once in the conference play last season. It was to the Mules in Poplar Bluff, 70-65, in a game that featured Sikeston jumping out to a 34-22 halftime lead before a 17-3 run to open the second half by Bluff.

After the way Sikeston rolled through New Madrid County Central (71-43) in the semifinal Thursday night and the way the Mules played (29 turnovers in 27 minutes), we could have a repeat of last year's final (a 20-point margin). We'll find out tonight.

Other games feature Charleston and Jackson for the consolation title at 5:30 p.m. while New Madrid County Central and Notre Dame play at 7 p.m. for third place.

Comments

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Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

I like Sikeston in the championship game.

The other two games will be really close.

-- Posted by drawmules on Fri, Dec 11, 2009, at 3:34 PM
I can't seem to find a little item called "the final score" in your article!

-- Posted by semo7178 on Sat, Dec 12, 2009, at 10:12 AM

Brian Rosener's response:
Good point. However, this is not the game story, this is a blog. A commentary on the game if you will.
The front page offers the score of the game even before you click on this 'article.' It's also right there in the second paragraph of my story:
"The Bulldogs saw their 14 point halftime lead cut to one with just under 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter but Sikeston held on for a 69-64 win."
If anything, I should have provided a link from here to the game story. Thank you for pointing that out.
Thanks for the link to the story; good job!

-- Posted by semo7178 on Sat, Dec 12, 2009, at 6:40 PM

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